To breed a fresh-market purple sweet potato cultivar combining high anthocyanin content, superior eating quality, wide adaptability and excellent marketability, we crossed the high-yielding, high-anthocyanin cultivar Funingzi No.3 (female parent) with the premium-quality, good-appearance cultivar Jinshu No.3 (male parent). After artificial hybridization and pedigree selection, the new cultivar Jinshu 20 was obtained and officially registered [GPD Sweetpotato (2020) 350069]. Two years of regional trials showed that Jinshu 20 produced an average fresh tuber yield of 33.28 t hm^-2, 21.02% higher than that of the control (Funingzi No.3). Its anthocyanin content reached 167.2 mg kg^-1, and its eating-quality score was 1.35 points above that of the control. The cultivar formed 5.43 tubers per plant with uniform size and high commercial value, and exhibited resistance to fusarium wilt. Jinshu 20 matures in 135-140 d and is therefore relatively early. Its leaf area index increased slowly at early stages and declined gradually later, indicating high fertilizer tolerance. In sandy soils, the highest yield was achieved with 15 kg pure nitrogen per 667 m² applied at a N∶P₂O₅∶K₂O mass ratio of 2∶1∶3. These results provided a technical basis for the popularization and application of Jinshu 20 in production.

In order to compare the safety and immune efficacy of the dual inactivated vaccine for piglet Escherichia coli disease and Clostridium perfringens(bivalent vaccine) developed by the author team with similar dual vaccine and individual vaccines, the inactivated vaccine in our laboratory was compared with the trivalent inactivated vaccine against Escherichia coli and the inactivated vaccine against C-type Clostridium perfringens produced by domestic biopharmaceutical companies, as well as the combined inactivated vaccine produced by a foreign company. Comparative experiments were conducted on traits, sterility testing, safety, and immune protection effects under the same conditions. The results showed that the inactivated vaccines were qualified in terms of characteristics and sterility compared with domestic and imported vaccines, and all vaccines were safe for mice and weaned piglets. The protection rate of the inactivated vaccine against various strains of Escherichia coli and C-type Clostridium perfringens achieved 80%-100%, with no significant difference in efficacy compared with various single vaccines and imported vaccines of the same type. The comparison results showed that the quality of the inactivated vaccine developed by author team is not lower than that of each monovalent vaccine, trivalent vaccine, and similar imported vaccine.

Cryptocaryon irritans is a highly infectious and lethal parasitic ciliate affecting marine fishes. The intestine, as a vital organ for nutrition and immunity in fish, is directly exposed to waterborne pathogens through the oral cavity. To investigate the impact of C. irritans infection on intestinal structure and function in fish, this study used the small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) as a model and systematically compared differences in intestinal microstructure, immune parameters, and microbial composition between healthy control and infected groups. The results showed that C. irritans infection caused structural damage and reduced the density of intestinal microvilli, while significantly increasing the levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and complement 3 (C3) in the intestine. In terms of microbial composition, the infected group exhibited significant decreases in both Chao1 and Shannon indices, indicating reduced microbial diversity and richness. Specifically, the relative abundances of Vibrio, Alloprevotella, and Bacteroides increased significantly, whereas that of Neisseria was significantly reduced. KEGG analysis further revealed enhanced activities of the GnRH signaling pathway and FcγR-mediated phagocytosis pathway in the infected group, while metabolic pathways such as caffeine metabolism, mineral absorption, and retinol metabolism were significantly suppressed. In summary, C. irritans infection disrupts the intestinal microstructure of L. polyactis, triggers a strong immune response, reduces microbial diversity and richness, and impairs fundamental metabolic functions. This study elucidates the effects of C. irritans on the small yellow croaker intestine from histological, immunological, and microecological perspectives, providing a theoretical basis for future strategies in fish health management through intestinal microbiota modulation.

On the basis of building the Jiangnan Peony Planting Resource Garden, inter-cultivars hybridization was carried out between the Jiangnan ornamental peony variety with strong flood tolerance and the oil peony variety Fengdan, attempting to introduce excellent flood tolerance genes into oil peony varieties to cultivate new oil peony varieties with strong flood tolerance. The main hybrid combinations are as follows: Dafugui×Fengdan, Yulouchun×Fengdan, Yipinhong×Fengdan, Hongfurong×Fengdan. The results showed that different hybrid combinations had different seed setting rates, germination rates, and waterlogging tolerance of hybrid seedlings. The seed setting rates of the four hybrid combinations were all above 70%, with Yulouchun×Fengdan achieving a seed setting rate of 85%. The germination rate of seeds was between 60%-80%, and the hybrid combination Yulouchun×Fengdan achieved a seed germination rate of 80%. Compared with the maternal parent of Fengdan, the waterlogging tolerance of the hybrid seedlings has been improved. The physiological indicators of waterlogging tolerance, such as sucrose synthase (SS),α-amylase (RAMY), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC), were significantly higher than those in the control Fengdan, with the most obvious improvement observed in Yipinhong×Fengdan, followed by Yulouchun×Fengdan. The results of this study have obtained a new germplasm of Fengdan that is tolerant to waterlogging, providing a variety resource for the southern regions with more rainfall, especially the Jiangnan region. It fundamentally solves the problem of waterlogging faced by oil peonies and provides favorable resource guarantees for industrial development of oil peonies.

To investigate the cadmium (Cd) accumulation characteristics and tolerance mechanisms of Spiraea japonica Little Princess (abbreviated as SL) and Spiraea×bumalda Coccimea (abbreviated as SC), a pot experiment with simulated Cd contamination was conducted. The growth, physiological indexes, as well as the accumulation, distribution, and translocation characteristics of Cd in the two meadowsweet varieties were studied under stress conditions with different Cd contents (25, 50, 100, 200 mg·kg^-1, denoted as T₁ to T₄ treatments in sequence). The results showed that, compared with the control group (CK) without Cd addition, the T₂-T₄ treatments significantly (p<0.05) reduced the total plant biomass of SC by 22.4%-53.0%. Moreover, all Cd-added treatments significantly decreased the chlorophyll content in the leaves of the two meadowsweet varieties. Under the T₄ treatment, the relative electrical conductivity in the leaves of SL and SC was 1.17 times and 1.38 times of CK, respectively, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was 1.42 times and 1.92 times of CK, respectively. Between the two varieties, both the Cd tolerance index and bioconcentration factor of SC were lower than those of SL. The distribution ratio of Cd in the two meadowsweet varieties followed the order of root > stem > leaf. At the subcellular level, Cd was mainly accumulated in the cell wall, accounting for 59.12%-71.10% and 57.05%-62.47% of the total Cd under T₁-T₄ treatments in SC and SL, respectively. In terms of chemical forms, Cd mainly existed in the NaCl-extractable form, with proportions of 46.61%-57.86% and 60.51%-67.65% under T₁-T₄ treatments in SC and SL, respectively.

To explore the special fertilizer formulas suitable for Citrus×aurantium L. Changshanhuyou at different growth stages and their effects on yield, quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil fertility, this study established four fertilization modes: CK (no fertilization), FP (farmers’ conventional fertilization), OPT (optimized fertilization) and OPT50%N (optimized fertilization with nitrogen application rate reduced by 50%). The static chamber-gas chromatography method was employed to monitor the emissions of greenhouse gases (N₂O and CH₄) throughout the growth period within one year (from March 30th, 2023 to January 11th, 2024). The results showed that compared with the FP treatment: the OPT treatment did not cause a significant decrease in fruit yield while improving fruit quality, with titratable acidity significantly (p<0.05) reduced by 21.6%, ratio of total soluble solids content to titratable acidity and edible rate significantly increased by 27.7% and 2.37 percentage points, respectively; cumulative CH₄ emission and greenhouse gas intensity (GHGI) were significantly reduced by 30.8% and 33.3%, respectively; and the supply of soil nutrients in soil was guaranteed. Although the OPT50%N treatment also maintained fruit quality and the supply of available nutrients in soil, with cumulative N₂O emission and CH₄ emission significantly reduced by 30.9% and 61.5% than those of FP treatment, respectively, the fruit yield was significantly decreased by 4.52%. In conclusion, the OPT treatment could not only ensure fruit yield but also achieve the coordination of quality improvement and greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and thus could be developed into a special fertilizer product. The total nutrients input of chemical fertilizers in this treatment was reduced by 24.4% compared with FP, which effectively realized the usage reduction and efficiency improvement of chemical fertilizers.

To effectively trap and control fruit flies in Cucurbitaceae vegetable fields, four kinds of fruit fly attractants produced by different manufacturers, as well as two types of traps with either black cover or yellow cover, were compared for the field trapping effects in the Luffa acutangula field. The results showed that all four attractants, YG (Yinger), NL (Ninglu), NK (Niukang), and HZ (Hangzhou Xinxi), trapped two morphological forms of fruit flies, all of which were male individuals. Through morphological and molecular biological identification, these two fruit flies were identified as Bactrocera tau and Bactrocera scutellata. YG had the highest number of trapped fruit flies, followed by NL and NK, while HZ had the fewest. In comparison with different traps, traps with black covers were more attractive to fruit flies than those with yellow covers. This study is helpful for designing the field control strategy and population forecasting of fruit flies.

To identify the causal pathogen of pepper anthracnose in Sanming City, Fujian Province, China, and to screen out effective fungicides for disease control, diseased fruits were collected from major production areas. The pathogen was isolated and purified by tissue separation, and was identified through morphological characterization and multilocus phylogenetic analysis (ITS, ACT, CHS-1, TUB2, GAPDH and CAL). Antifungal activities of 10 fungicides were evaluated by using the mycelial growth inhibition method, as well as their field efficacy. It was shown that the pathogen was identified as Colletotrichum siamense. In vitro toxicity tests revealed that the 24% guazatine pyraclostrobin wettable powder exhibited the highest inhibitory effect, with a median effective concentration (EC₅₀) of 0.176 mg·L^-1, which was followed by 30% difenoconazole pyraclostrobin suspension concentrate (EC₅₀ of 0.263 mg·L^-1), 60% azoxystrobin + tebuconazole water dispersible granules (EC₅₀ of 0.367 mg·L^-1), 17% azoxystrobin epoxiconazole suspension concentrate (EC₅₀ of 0.371 mg·L^-1). In field trials, 30% difenoconazole pyraclostrobin suspension concentrate and 50% prochloraz-copper salt suspension concentrate demonstrated the highest control efficacy of 91.51% and 90.83%, respectively, on the 7th day after the third application, which was followed by 24% guazatine pyraclostrobin wettable powder. Therefore, 30% difenoconazole pyraclostrobin suspension concentrate and 24% guazatine pyraclostrobin wettable powder could be used as preferred agents to control pepper anthracnose in peppers, and should be used alternately.

Solidago canadensis, a plant listed on the second batch of alien invasive species in China, was first detected in Wenzhou in 2003. In the present study, typical coastal habitats in Wenzhou were strategically selected, and the survey data collected from 40 quadrats were used to to meticulously investigate the variations in the community structure and species diversity of S. canadensis invasions under diverse invasion intensities and habitat types, to reveal the invasion characteristics and underlying mechanism of S. canadensis in coastal areas. It was shown that within the invaded communities of S. canadensis in Wenzhou, there were 34 species of vascular plants, which were taxonomically classified into 28 genera across 13 families. Notably, invasive plants accounted for 26.5% of the total species. As the invasion degree of S. canadensis intensified, the number of community species, encompassing both native and invasive plants, declined gradually. Concomitantly, the proportion of invasive species increased, and the cumulative importance value of invasive plants steadily rose. Further in-depth analysis demonstrated that S. canadensis boasted the highest importance value and niche breadth within invaded communities. In comparison to native species, the importance value and niche breadth of other invasive plants predominantly ranked among the top positions in these commuties. Furthermore, the species diversity indexes of the severely invaded communities were significantly (p<0.05) lower than those of the slightly and moderately invaded ones. There was negative correlation within S. canadensis and both invasive and native plants in the relative abundance, and this correlation strenthened as the invasion degree escalated. The analysis of niche overlap index further corroborated that the increasingly competitive relationships between S. canadensis and other invasive as well as native species within moderately and severely invaded communities were the root causes underlying the aforementioned outcomes. Among different habbitats, garden and transportation land facilitated the dissemination of alien species. In contrast, cultivated land might offer certain protection against alien invasive plants.

To provide a scientific basis for the low-carbon development of citrus orchards, the citrus orchards in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province of China were selected as the research object, and the life cycle assessment method was adopted in the present study. A carbon accounting method for citrus orchards was established, which covered the production and transportation of input materials, field fertilization management, and orchard carbon sequestration. On this basis, the current status of carbon emissions and storage of citrus orchards in Quzhou City was evaluated. The results showed that: the citrus orchards in Quzhou City were mainly composed of citrus trees with an age of ≥20 years, and the average yield was 43.35 t·hm^-2. The total carbon emissions per unit area (calculated as CO₂ equivalent) was 7.61 t·hm^-2, among which the emissions from the production and transportation of nitrogen fertilizer accounted for the largest proportion (41.66%). The carbon storage per unit area was 66.18 t·hm^-2, and the soil carbon pool in the 0-30 cm soil layer was the main body of carbon sink, accounting for 87.43%. There were differences in carbon emissions and carbon storage among citrus orchards of different tree ages, which were mainly related to the differences in fertilization and management practices among orchards. In the future, orchard management should be further optimized by reducing chemical fertilizer application and increasing the proportion of organic fertilizer substitution, to further improve the carbon emissions reduction and carbon sequestration capacity of citrus orchards.

In order to characterize the distribution of seven heavy metal elements, namely chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg) and lead (Pb), in marine products in the sea area of Wenzhou, China, high performance liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry techniques were utilized to determine the heavy metals contents in 11 marine biological samples. The single factor pollution index, comprehensive pollution index and food safety assessment method were used to comprehensively evaluate the heavy metals pollution level and their health risk of these samples. It was shown that the average contents of Hg, inorganic As, Cd, Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn were 0.015, 0.035, 0.17, 0.14, 0.23, 4.38, 12.13 mg·kg^-1, respectively. According to the National Food Safety Standard Contamination Limit in Food (GB 2762—2022), the average contents of Cr, Cd, Hg, As, Pb in these samples were below the limit. Based on the the single factor pollution index, the heavy metals pollution level of Portunus trituberculatus was relatively higher, with mild pollution of Cd, Cd, Pb and moderate pollution of Zn. Besides, the comprehensive pollution index value of P. trituberculatus was also high, which reached 0.46. In terms of food safety assessment, all the samples showed low risk. The target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) values of all the samples were smaller than 1. Therefore, the collected samples all showed low ecological and health risk, indicating high safety for consumption. In general, this survey exhibited low heavy metals pollution risk in the marine products in the sea area of Wenzhou. However, the HI value of P. trituberculatus and Mytilus coruscus reached 0.680 and 0.526, respectively, which called for more attention on the risk monitoring and assessment.

In order to solve the problems of large workload and difficult manual picking in strawberry plant factories, an intelligent strawberry picking and grading robot for plant factories was designed. The structure and working principle of the robot were analyzed, and its key components were optimized based on theoretical analysis and selection calculations, including the Ackermann type chassis movement control system, telescopic electric scissors, and the structure of humanoid underactuated manipulator. The YOLOv5-7.0 algorithm was employed to achieve strawberry grading and predict the direction of peduncle growth. Ultimately, a performance test of the machine’s picking and grading capabilities was conducted. The test results showed that the robot exhibited stable performance and consistent actions in picking and grading, with an average accuracy of 87.44% for strawberry grading. This achievement enables precise targeting and gentle grasping of the fruit, significantly enhancing work efficiency.

To address the technical requirements for precision hill-drop seeding and post-film-mulching sowing in dry direct-seeded rice systems in Yunnan, this study aimed to design a suitable seeding device. First, the triaxial size of rice seeds was measured, and the seed density was calculated as 1 036 kg·m^-3. Compression tests conducted using a universal testing machine yielded a Poisson’s ratio of 0.3 and a shear modulus of 108 MPa for the seeds. Subsequently, Nylon-66 was selected as the seeding device material, and a physical test bench was constructed to determine the contact parameters between rice seeds and Nylon-66: collision restitution coefficient was 0.48, static friction coefficient was 0.53, and rolling friction coefficient was 0.07. Then, a discrete element model of rice seeds was established, and contact parameters between seeds were calibrated using EDEM and Design-Expert software, resulting in an optimal parameter set: collision restitution coefficient was 0.34, static friction coefficient was 0.66, and rolling friction coefficient was 0.078. Based on this, a seeding device was designed, and simulations of the seed pickup and discharge processes were performed, identifying an optimal rotational speed range of 90-110(°)·s^-1. A seeding device made of Nylon-66 was fabricated and tested on a seeding bench. The results demonstrated that the seeding device performs well in both hill-forming and film-mulching sowing effects, meeting the agronomic requirements for dry direct-seeded rice.

To explore the optimal combination of methods for sheep breed recognition, we systematically compared the breed recognition accuracy of three single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) screening methods [fixation index (F_ST), informativeness for assignment (In), and minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR)] and five machine learning algorithms [multilayer perceptron (MLP), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and K-nearest neighbor (KNN)] under varying numbers of reference SNPs, using SNPs genotyping data from 256 sheep across 11 breeds after data quality control. The results indicated that in most cases, F_ST demonstrated the best screening performance, the SVM algorithm showed a clear advantage, and the number of SNPs significantly influenced recognition accuracy. Among all combinations, the SVM algorithm combined with the F_ST screening method achieved the best performance with 1 400 SNPs, yielding a breed recognition accuracy of 99.54%. These findings contribute to understanding the differences in breed recognition effectiveness under various combinations and provide support for protecting sheep breed diversity, maintaining ecological balance, and improving specific traits.

Real-time and accurate recognition of tobacco stems is essential for enhancing the quality and efficiency of tobacco stem sorting. To tackle the challenges of low efficiency and subpar quality in manual tobacco stem sorting, this paper proposed a tobacco stem recognition method based on the improved YOLOv8n model, aiming to achieve automated detection of tobacco stem structures. Taking the tobacco stems after re-roasting as the research object, variable kernel convolution was used instead of standard convolution based on the YOLOv8n model to enhance the feature extraction of tobacco stems by the network model and reduce parameters of the model. A triple attention module is embedded into the backbone network to enhance the network’s focus on tobacco stem positional information through cross-dimensional interactions. The results demonstrated that the improved model achieved an mAP of 95.40% with a parameter of 2.52×10⁶, floating-point operations per second (FLOPs) of 7.50 G, and detection speed of 62.38 frames per second. Compared to the YOLOv8n model, the improved model achieved a 4.55 percentage points increase in mAP while reducing parameters and FLOPs by 0.49×10⁶ and 0.70 G, respectively. Compared with Faster R-CNN, SSD, YOLOv5n, YOLOv6n, and YOLOv7tiny, the improved model had superior accuracy and faster detection speed, demonstrating superior-comprehensive performance. Furthermore, embedding the improved model into computing devices and testing its performance in real-world applications. The model demonstrated high accuracy and real-time capabilities, effectively improving the efficiency of recognition and sorting of tobacco stems.

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are high-molecular-weight organic polymers secreted by microorganisms into the external matrix. They enhance the cohesion between soil particles, promote the formation and stabilization of soil aggregates, and protect organic carbon from dissolution, migration, and mineralization through physical encapsulation and chemical binding. This review explores the primary sources, chemical composition and physicochemical properties of EPS, and examines the influence of environmental conditions, nutrients, and biological factors on EPS production. Furthermore, it elaborates on the role of EPS as a binding agent in soil aggregates formation, highlighting its interactions with minerals, base cations, and microbial activities in contributing to aggregate stability. Additionally, the paper details the functions of EPS in organic carbon stabilization, including physical protection, chemical binding, and the enhancement of soil carbon sequestration through microbial carbon pumps. Finally, the practical applications of EPS in improving soil fertility, enhancing carbon sequestration, supporting water retention, and facilitating ecological restoration are summarized. Despite the advances in understanding the multifunctional roles of EPS, challenges remain. Future research should be focused on developing advanced monitoring techniques and methodologies to further elucidate the mechanisms of EPS in diverse ecosystems, providing a scientific basis for soil management and ecological restoration.

Against the backdrop of global climate change, the frequent occurrence of high-temperature stress poses severe threat to rice production security and global food safety. Developing thermotolerant rice varieties represents a key strategy to address this challenge. This review systematically summarizes quantitative trait loci (QTL) and key genes associated with thermotolerance traits in rice, and provides an in-depth analysis of their regulatory mechanisms, to elucidate the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms underlying thermotolerance in rice. Based on the current research progress, this review outlines future research directions: 1) Conducting comprehensive analysis of the complex thermotolerance regulatory network in rice; 2) Systematically evaluating the effects of different thermotolerance genes in diverse genetic backgrounds to provide precise guidance for molecular breeding; 3) Establishing a scientific and comprehensive evaluation system for thermotolerant rice varieties.

Peptidoglycan (PG) is an important component of the bacterial cell wall, and its biosynthesis is catalyzed by a series of enzymes. Since 2006, studies have shown that peptidoglycans are also present in chloroplast membranes of early land plants including Physcomitrium patens, and the genes encoding enzymes in PG biosynthesis pathway are well-conserved in the genomes of plants such as P. patens and tomato. PG tightly affects the division of chloroplasts and disrupting the functions of the PG biosynthetic genes leads to the development of giant chloroplasts in plants. In seed plants, whether PG is present in plastids and functions similarly in regulating cell division remains unclear. Despite that our knowledge about the biological roles of PG in plant chloroplasts has expanded, its physiological significance and the molecular mechanism remain to be elucidated. In addition, as the key material compositions of PG, the synthesis, metabolism and transport of D-amino acids may also influence PG synthesis. The application of visual detection technology also promotes the development of PG biology in plant plastids. Whether peptidoglycan exists in seed plants, and what are the biological functions and mechanisms of peptidoglycan in seed plants, should be investigated in the near future.